I like it. I have one with the tapered target barrel. I shot it last summer for the first time in 15 years. I forgot how accurate they are. Clays at 50 yards don't have a prayer. More fun than should be legal. Very best 22 pistol ever built IMHO.

Orion8472

July 10, 2014, 10:31 PM

Thank you, bikemutt. I only wish I had a camera that can take better quality pics. I guess I need to update. :o

CoalTrain49, yeah, these things are nearly boring due to their great accuracy.

bannockburn

July 11, 2014, 08:49 AM

Orion8472

Great looking Mk.II; especially with the Tungsten Cerakote finish. Grips look great too. Very nice total package.

Barry the Bear

July 11, 2014, 09:01 AM

Im not a fan of any .22s period but I love tje looks of that gun!

Orion8472

July 11, 2014, 10:00 AM

Thanks again for the comments, guys! I am quite happy with the finished piece! :D

Drail

July 11, 2014, 11:20 AM

Sure hope you got a bunch of rimfire ammo. Has the trigger been tuned any?

340PD

July 11, 2014, 11:34 AM

Beautiful job. Easily one of the nicest Rugers I have ever seen. My MK's have been shot tens of thousands of times by me and my students. Great gun.

Orion8472

July 11, 2014, 12:27 PM

Drail, it is a Volquartsen trigger, but really not sure how "tuned" it is. It really could stand to be a bit, I think. And yes, I have a fair amount of 22lr to put through it, but I really don't shoot much of it these days.

340PD, thanks for the input. I appreciate it! :)

340PD

July 11, 2014, 03:49 PM

Unless you have the actual VQ trigger, not just the sear, you cannot adjust anything that I know of. The VQ trigger will allow you to adjust the pre travel and also has a trigger stop screw adjustment.
Here is a VQ trigger in a VQ lower on a MKIII 22/45.

This is my "MKII". I put that in quotes, because the only Ruger part on the gun is the magazine. Pac-lite upper, VQ frame, VQ fire control parts, VQ bolt and extractor, VQ volthane grips, Burris FF3 RDS.

Except when you can't find 22 to feed them. I have 3 that haven't been shot in over a year. I have one or two more on my must have list I'd buy....if 22 would ever show back up in normal supply in correct prices. Overall I have 7 22's just collecting dust and a (pre scare) supply of 8-9k of ammo that I can't do anything with.

Orion8472

July 13, 2014, 12:12 PM

I hear ya, ritepath . . . . . .and feel for ya.

gb6491

July 14, 2014, 03:15 PM

Unless you have the actual VQ trigger, not just the sear, you cannot adjust anything that I know of. The VQ trigger will allow you to adjust the pre travel and also has a trigger stop screw adjustment.
Here is a VQ trigger in a VQ lower on a MKIII 22/45.
...
The factory trigger on some Mark 1/II pistols (those with adjustable sights) came with an "over travel" adjustment screw. The procedure to adjust it is cumbersome:

Text from the now defunct: http://geocities.com/felixthefish.geo/mkii_overtravel.html
"Overtravel Adjustment of the Ruger Mark II Target Model:
If your MKII came from the factory with adjustable sights, then it's a target model, and it has an overtravel adjustable trigger. Overtravel is any distance that the trigger moves after the fall of the hammer, and it is probably the most crucial aspect of trigger pull in a target gun. The reason is that you can learn to overcome a creepy trigger, or a heavy trigger, but once the hammer falls, any motion of the gun will move it from the point of aim, and no one's reflexes are fast enough to stop moving as soon as the tension on the trigger is released. The overtravel screw is a royal pain to get too, so expect to spend a couple of hours doing this. Learn how to disassemble and reassemble the gun, including taking the receiver tube off the frame. To remove the trigger, you have to take out everything but the sear and magazine release. Read these instructions several times before you start, and look at the exploded parts diagram; it will help.

MAKE SURE THE GUN IS UNLOADED AND THERE IS NO AMMO ANYWHERE NEAR YOU WHEN YOU DO THIS!!!! THIS PROCESS REQUIRES DRY FIRING, SO ALWAYS KEEP THE GUN POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION!!!!

Once you have the trigger out, clean the frame in front of the trigger very well, then take a small allen wrench and unscrew the set screw on the front of the trigger 1 full turn, reassemble the gun, and see if pulling the trigger drops the hammer. If it doesn't, then unscrew it a turn at a time until it won't fire any more. You now have a negative overtravel, and we'll slowly search to find the exact threshold where the hammer falls. Once the hammer stops falling, screw the screw in 1/2 turn, assemble, and test. If it still fails to fire, screw in 1/4 turn; if it does fire, screw out 1/4 turn. Repeat the process with 1/8 and 1/16 turns, in if it fails to fire, out if it does fire (any programmers out there will recognize the binary search algorithm here :). At the 1/16 turn level, the overtravel will be down to less than 1/100 of an inch. Once you get it as small as you'd like, apply a drop of LockTite or SuperGlue to keep it from moving, then try once more to make sure that it didn't back out any. Now take it out to the range and see how much better you group."

That said the Volquartsen trigger (pre and over travel adjustments) or Clark trigger (over travel only) do not require dis-assembly to make adjustments and are nice upgrades.

You can also modify the stock trigger to allow over travel adjustment without dis-assembly by drilling and tapping it for a set screw.
http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11

Regards,
Greg

BTW, nice work on that MKII Orion8472:)

Praxidike

July 14, 2014, 03:27 PM

The finish is a Tungsten Cerakote done by Tactical Armz out of Springfield, MO. Grips are ones I found at a gunshow. Sights are the latest and final piece of the puzzle. Williams Fire Sights.

http://i485.photobucket.com/albums/rr220/DaveCustomMade/IMG_6640.jpg (http://s485.photobucket.com/user/DaveCustomMade/media/IMG_6640.jpg.html)
I like the classy look of yours over the tactical looking ones. Nice job.

Orion8472

July 14, 2014, 05:03 PM

Thank you, Praxidike. I'm quite happy with how it came out. :)

bannockburn

July 14, 2014, 06:02 PM

My "old school" Mk.II came with a blued upper and polished stainless frame and was one of a limited edition run done awhile back for one of the big distributors. The only thing I added to it were Ruger target grips. With CCI MiniMags and Wolf Match Target this gun is a real tack driver.

Confederate

July 14, 2014, 07:28 PM

I bought a custom Ruger .22lr right out of the box. It was, actually, a Ruger with a long barrel, Clark trigger, slab sides, finger rest, Millet sights and a rubber, wrap-around grip, all standard out of the box. But it's not really a Ruger.

AMT didn't make a lot of these before Ruger sued them and put them out of business. Glad I got one, though. I don't know why AMT thought they could get away with it. Even so, mine's not as beautiful as the OP's!

.

Orion8472

July 14, 2014, 07:54 PM

Wow, Confederate! You really cannot get much closer looking to a Ruger than that. Nice!

kbbailey

July 14, 2014, 10:17 PM

A very nice pistol Orion.
Since I put optics on my MKII, I hardly use a .22 rifle.
Nice job.

bannockburn

July 15, 2014, 07:42 AM

Confederate

That Lightning is a bit of a rare bird and in really nice condition! I remember thinking when they first came out that I'm sure Bill Ruger was going to have a thing or two to say about close a copy this gun was to his .22 auto.

Waveski

July 15, 2014, 08:42 AM

"...I'm sure Bill Ruger was going to have a thing or two to say about close a copy this gun was to his .22 auto."

It think it went legal. That lightning is very attractive , and I suppose a bit rare?

Some of the Rugers in this thread are remarkable!

bannockburn

July 15, 2014, 10:39 AM

Waveski

Oh I know... I believe AMT also made a copy of the Ruger 10/22 rifle (I think it was called the 25/22). That didn't go over well with Mr. Ruger either.

Deltaboy

July 15, 2014, 05:42 PM

Good looking MK II' s.

Confederate

July 16, 2014, 12:04 AM

Confederate

That Lightning is a bit of a rare bird and in really nice condition! I remember thinking when they first came out that I'm sure Bill Ruger was going to have a thing or two to say about close a copy this gun was to his .22 auto.
Yes, indeedy.

I went to a range, tested the gun to make sure it worked, then came home, thoroughly cleaned it and never fired another shot out of it. The others we ordered for friends are still going strong. But these guns are strictly target guns. They fire very rapidly, but the trigger has very little take up. You just squeeze and the thing goes off. I bought a number of AMT stainless steel magazines as well, and they may be collectors' items. They take 10 rounds each and I have no idea where they are, but I have my suspicions.

And yes, AMT also produced a 10/22 rifle, but though I really wanted one, Bill Ruger had clearly had enough by that time and the courts issued an injunction before I could even see one. To this day I don't know how AMT thought it could ever get away with what it did, but my AMT target pistol is better than any Ruger I've ever seen. Don't know if they're worth anything, but I'm going to hold onto mine. I'm not a target shooter and yes, I know I can adjust the trigger to turn it more into a plinker. But I have another Ruger for that.